


Simple Rules for Dating my Mother

by grrriliketigers



Category: Major Crimes (TV), The Closer
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-08
Updated: 2015-05-08
Packaged: 2018-03-29 15:03:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,506
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3900643
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/grrriliketigers/pseuds/grrriliketigers
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Emily Raydor goes head to head with Brenda when Sharon brings her to New York so they could meet officially.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Simple Rules for Dating my Mother

Brenda studied Sharon’s face as the brunette watched the final act of the ballet with rapt attention. Brenda was too nervous to really enjoy the ballet – it wasn’t that she disliked ballets but she was here in New York City with Sharon to meet her daughter. Brenda had met Ricky multiple times and they weren’t best friends but she had a few things in common with him and they got along well enough. 

Both Sharon and Ricky had told her that Sharon and Emily were very much alike. In and of itself, that wasn’t a bad thing – Brenda was in love with Sharon, after all – except that it took almost three years for Brenda and Sharon to stop cringing every time the other’s name was mentioned. It then took another year for them to become friendly – not exactly friends but _loyal_. Then they lost touch for almost two years and when they reunited Brenda pretty much immediately fell head over heels for Sharon. 

The curtain came down on the ballet and everyone in the theatre stood and clapped. Brenda shook herself out of her thoughts and joined them a few beats later. 

Sharon took Brenda’s hand, threading their fingers together and Brenda felt suddenly calmer. In the last four years her life had been through a huge upheaval and she could still think back on it and get overwhelmed but just one hand squeeze from Sharon had the power to calm her and bring her back to the moment. 

Brenda lifted Sharon’s hand and kissed it. 

**

“I’m so glad we’re finally getting to do this.” Sharon smiled. Brenda and Emily had missed each other several times – mostly because Emily visited L.A. on holidays and Brenda went to Georgia to spend holidays with her father. 

“Yeah, me too, mom.” Emily said, not really looking up from her menu. 

If Sharon noticed Emily’s lack of enthusiasm she didn’t draw attention to it – perhaps chalking it up to post-performance tiredness. Brenda sipped her water, Emily’s attitude certainly hadn’t gone unnoticed by Brenda. 

The waiter came by and the women placed their orders and Sharon ordered a bottle of Merlot and Brenda smiled at how well Sharon knew her. Sharon was well aware that Brenda was nervous about meeting Emily but she was sure that they would hit it off. 

The waiter returned with the wine and poured for Sharon and Brenda and Emily put her hand over her glass, “none for me thanks.”

Brenda took a big swig of her wine. 

“The show tonight was breathtaking,” Sharon put her hand over Emily’s with a smile. Emily smiled back at her mother, taking her hand. “You were absolutely wonderful.” 

“Thanks, mom.” Emily beamed. 

“It really was great.” Brenda chimed in. “I don’t know a lot about ballet but your mama’s trying her damnedest to make me an aficionado.” 

“I’m doing my best.” Sharon said playfully. 

“She still has some moves too.” 

Sharon waved her off with an embarrassed smile. “I can do a passable plié and jeté and I can _almost_ get en pointe – if I’ve had enough to drink to limber me up.” 

“She got all the way up on her toes last month, like Rose in Titanic, but she doesn’t believe me.”

Sharon chuckled, shaking her head, “no, we were both drinking, we’d just watched Titanic. She’s just mixing up memories.” 

Emily sipped her water. “How long have you two been together again?” 

“A little over six months.” Sharon answered. 

“And what do you do for work, Brenda?”

“I’m currently splitting my time between the L.A. District Attorney’s Office and a job in D.C.” 

“Doing what?” 

Sharon patted Emily’s hand. “She can’t really talk about it, sweetie.” 

Emily snorted indignantly. “What, do you work for the CIA?” The pair remained silent and Emily snorted again. “Wow.” 

Sharon’s phone chirped and she looked at the display. “Oh, that’s Rusty. I’m going to take this really quickly. I’ll be right back.” She kissed Brenda’s temple as she passed by. 

The silence stretched on and Brenda resisted the urge the imbibe more of the Merlot, lest she chug the glass. “So.” Brenda said and let her voice trail off. 

“Look,” Emily sighed, “we don’t have to do this. You don’t have to pretend to be glad to be here and I don’t have to pretend I’m glad to meet you.” 

Brenda frowned. 

“How long have you been divorced?”

Brenda pursed her lips, “three months.” 

“So you were with my mother for three months before you got a divorce?”

“Well, the divorce was a long time coming - ”

“Isn’t that what everybody always says?” Emily rolled her eyes. 

“ _No_. People always say they’re going to leave their marriage when the time is right and then never do. My husband was also moving on in those three overlapping months. It was a separation and we both found people we’d rather be with.”

“And how long until you find someone you’d rather be with than my mom?” 

“I don’t think your mama and I are in a place where _either_ of us is pledging the rest of our lives to this relationship but I’m really happy with her now and I want to be with her now more than anyone else.” 

“I’m going to be blunt. My mother has a tendency to choose people who let her down.” 

Brenda furrowed her brow. “Your mother can take care of herself. Have you ever seen how fast she can strip and reassemble her weapon?”

“No, obviously my mom can take care of herself. I mean, she’s been taking care of herself and everyone else for her whole life. But – and there’s no real way to put this delicately – she has really shitty taste in significant others. I love my dad but my mom’s life would have been so much less complicated if they’d just never met. I’m sure you’re nice to her but she doesn’t need someone who doesn’t have their shit together.” 

“Okay, look.” Brenda leaned forward on the table. “Here’s the deal: I’m dating your mother whether you like it or not. Whatever you’ve heard about me, whatever you think of me doesn’t matter one teeny tiny bit because it doesn’t change _anything_. So, you can either be an adult and _deal with it_ or you can piss and moan about it.” 

Emily pursed her lips and rolled her eyes. 

Brenda continued, “and knowing your mother, I know she raised you better than this.” 

“You don’t know me.” Emily scoffed. “Do you even really know my mother? Do you know about all the times some asshole flaked on her? Some woman broke her heart when she decided to go back to her husband? You don’t. _I do_. Someone has to put my mother’s best interests first and that’s me.” 

“I really don’t have to justify myself to you but I _love_ Captain Sharon Raydor. I love everything about who she is; she is perfect and beautiful and smart and everything. You don’t have to protect your mother from _me_. I would never do anything to hurt her.” Brenda admitted. 

Emily opened her mouth to reply when Sharon cleared her throat, taking her seat and smiling, “sorry about that. Minor emergency, the sink stopped draining and I had to call the maintenance people.” 

“No worries, mom.” Emily smiled. 

Sharon lifted her glass, “I just want to say again, sweetie, I am so proud of you and here’s to a brilliant performance.”

“Thanks, mom.” Emily ducked her head shyly. 

**

“What are you wearing to brunch tomorrow?” Brenda asked as she looked into her suitcase. “Is the place we’re going fancy? I don’t know if - ”

“Can we talk about dinner for a moment?” Sharon asked, drawing Brenda’s attention away from banalities and patting the spot next to her on the couch.

“Sure.” Brenda shrugged as she sat down next to the brunette. 

“I didn’t want to put you on the spot but I heard some of the conversation you were having with Emily.” 

Brenda flushed bright red. 

“She can be overprotective of me and I’m sorry if she was a jerk to you. I’ve talked to her about trying to scare off people that she thinks are too unpredictable for me. It’s related to Jackson and how our separation affected her childhood and how I was essentially a single mother and everything else. There’s really no excuse for her to do that. I will talk to her about it.” Sharon put her hand on Brenda’s knee. She leaned forward and smiled a mischievous smile, “and I liked the ‘I know your mother raised you better than this’ line.” 

Brenda chuckled in relief. “I write all my own material.” 

“And I _really_ liked it when you said that you love everything about who I am.” Sharon said in a low whisper. 

“Oh yeah?” Brenda bit her lip against a smile. 

Sharon took Brenda’s chin and tilted her head so she could look into her eyes. “I love everything about who you are too, Brenda Leigh Johnson.”


End file.
